Lex Osborne
| cityofbirth = Bonneville | countryofbirth = St. Gregory | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Forward | currentclub = | clubnumber = | youthyears = 1983-1993 | youthclubs = East Bonneville | years = 1993-1999 2001-2007 2007-2010 2014-2016 | clubs = New Castle FC Chapman Cape Wells Wanderers PSC Pirates | caps(goals) = | nationalyears = 1996-2006 | nationalteam = St. Gregory | nationalcaps(goals) = | manageryears = | managerclubs = }}Alexander Wayne "Lex" Osborne (born August 15, 1975) is a retired Gregorian footballer who played as a striker for New Castle, FC Chapman, Cape Wells Wanderers and Port St. Christopher Pirates. He also represented his country playing for the St. Gregory national team. One of Gregorian football's most polarizing figures in his day, Osborne won a League A title with Chapman in 2005-06 and a Golden Boot award in 1997-98, but earned a reputation as much for his antics on and off the field as he did for his play. Early life Osborne was born in Gastonia, a neighborhood on Bonneville's east side. His name was originally shortened to "Alex" until a teacher mispronounced it as "Lex" and his classmates quickly adopted it. Club career East Bonneville/New Castle Osborne joined the then-named East Bonneville club in 1983 at age 8. Forest United fan incident On November 20, 1999, New Castle played a match away at Forest United. Forest's stadium at the time, the Croydon Street Ground, was known for having spectator seating very close to the pitch, particularly behind both goals and near the corner flags. Midway through the first half, New Castle received a corner kick, which Osborne walked over to take. A Forest United fan in the front row began yelling obscenities at Osborne, at which point Osborne became angry and started to yell back. After a few seconds of shouting, Osborne leaped towards the spectator area and punched the fan in the side of the head twice before stadium security and other players pulled him back towards the pitch. Osborne was immediately sent off for the incident and the SGFA later suspended him for the remainder of the 1999-2000 League A season. New Castle subsequently released him from the team. FC Chapman During the January 2001 transfer window, after more than a year away from professional football, Osborne was signed by FC Chapman. The signing was a controversial one; as well as Osborne's disciplinary problems, Chapman already had a formidable forward pairing in Jarrod Shannon and Benjamin Laroche, and were in the middle of a title push. Chapman manager Brian Cleland stuck by his decision, however, and Osborne was inserted into the squad. His effect was immediate. Chapman's already powerful scoring threat became unstoppable, averaging a then-league record of 3.17 goals per game, and the Golden Eagles won their third League A championship. The following season, Osborne became a more vital component to his team when Shannon missed the second half of the campaign with symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. Osborne and Laroche, along with newcomer Joel Price, became the new three-pronged attack for Chapman. Although the team continued to be successful, winning the SGFA Cup in 2003, they would not win another league title until Shannon's return in 2005-06. With Shannon, Laroche and Price forming the nucleus of Chapman's attack, Osborne found his playing time gradually dwindling and he requested a transfer in January of 2007. Cape Wells Wanderers Osborne was picked up by Cape Wells Wanderers, where he spent the remainder of the 2006-07 season and the next three seasons after that. He was unable to save the team from relegation in 2009-10, however, and as the club parted ways with most of their roster, Osborne was released. First retirement Unable to find a club for the upcoming season, Osborne retired from professional football in the summer of 2010. Port St. Christopher Pirates In January 2014, Osborne was lured out of retirement by League B club Port St. Christopher Pirates, who were making a push for promotion to League A. Osborne scored 8 goals as PSC Pirates finished 6th in League B, missing the playoffs. However, in the Cup, Pirates defeated League A clubs Calabria, Manorham and Midland en route to a berth in the final against Osborne's former club, FC Chapman. Pirates led 1-0 at half-time but lost the match 2-1, however as Chapman had also won the League A title that year, Pirates were awarded a spot in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League. Osborne's final goal of the season, and his professional career, came on May 7, 2016, after he had come on as a substitute against Rivergate. At 40 years, 8 months and 23 days, Osborne set the record as the oldest goalscorer in League A history. Second retirement Following the 2015-16 League A season in which Pirates finished 15th and were relegated back to League B, the 40 year-old Osborne announced his retirement from competitive football. Category:Player pages Category:Port St. Christopher Pirates F.C. players Category:Cape Wells Wanderers F.C. players Category:FC Chapman players Category:New Castle F.C. players Category:St. Gregory national team players Category:People from Bonneville Category:Retired players